colporteur
- noun
- /ˈkɔl.pər.tɜr/
- Archaic
:
colportor
- This included the colporteur's report, emphasizing that his sales visits were spiritually beneficial: 'He has had opportunities of reading portions of the Word of God, sometimes in as many as seven houses during a day, and he has exhorted everyone to the diligent private reading of the Bible.'
Examples
-
As a dedicated colporteur, she spent her weekends distributing inspirational literature in local communities.
-
As its donations grew in 1858, the Auxiliary Committee decided that it ought to follow the pattern used in the great cities of England and employ a colporteur to distribute copies of the Bible in Auckland.
Academic text (2018) -
Relief was granted because the colporteurs were credentialed ministers and their activities were judged to be essentially religious.
Academic text (1998) -
Calls for army preachers, missionaries, and colporteurs resounded.
Academic text (2014) -
Run by an "old evangelist" colporteur, the mission attracted a few Sicilians from the largely Sicilian immigrant district nearby.
Academic text (2000) -
The colporteur traveled from town to town, selling religious books to anyone who would listen.
-
Each month, the colporteur visited several villages, sharing the teachings of the faith through the books he sold.
Synonyms
8
5.7
A person who travels to sell small goods in streets or markets
4
7.4
A person who sells goods in the street or at markets
2
3.8
A person who sells books by visiting homes or towns
1
4.4
A person who travels to sell goods or take orders
A person who travels to sell small goods like ribbons or buttons
Surface Forms
Etymology
Colporteur comes from French parts col 'neck' and porter 'to carry', because these sellers carried a heavy bag over their shoulder. Think of a traveling porter walking from village to village with books to sell or give away. That's why a colporteur is someone who travels to sell or distribute books, often religious ones.